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John Henry Twachtman Catalogue Raisonné
An online catalogue by Lisa N. Peters, Ph.D., in collaboration with the Greenwich Historical Society
Catalogue Entry
OP.976
Sailing in the Mist
Alternate title: Sailing
ca. 1895
Oil on canvas
30 3/16 x 30 1/8 in. (76.7 x 76.5 cm)
Signed lower left: J. H. Twachtman
Provenance
Through (Silas S. Dustin, New York);
to present collection, 1906.
Exhibitions
1905 Knoedler
M. Knoedler & Co, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Pictures by John H. Twachtman, January 2–11, 1905, no. 12, as Sailing in the Mist.1906 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 101st Annual Exhibition, January 22–March 3, 1906, no. 1, as Sailing in the Mist.1906 Buffalo Fine Arts Academy
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, New York, First Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, May 31–September 2, 1906, no. 110, as Sailing in the Mist, lent by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.1906 Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago, Nineteenth Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture by American Artists, October 16–November 29, 1906, no. 300, as Sailing in the Mist, lent by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.1908 National Arts Club
National Arts Club, New York, Special Exhibition of Contemporary Art, January 4–25, 1908, no. 4, as Sailing in the Mist.1908–II Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Exhibition of Paintings by Ten American Painters, April 11–May 3, 1908, as Sailing in the Mist, not listed in catalogue, but included in the show.1957 Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts, Painting in America: The Story of 450 Years, April 23–June 9, 1957, no. 131, as Sailing in the Mist.1965 University of New Mexico Art Gallery
University of New Mexico Art Gallery, Albuquerque, Impressionism in America, February 9–March 14, 1965, no. 82, ill. in b/w, as Sailing in the Mist. Traveled to: M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, March 30–May 5, 1965.1966 Cincinnati Art Museum
Cincinnati Art Museum, John Henry Twachtman: A Retrospective Exhibition, October 7–November 20, 1966. (Exhibition catalogue: Baskett 1966); (Exhibition catalogue: Boyle 1966–I), no. 42, as Sailing in the Mist, lent by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.1999 High Museum of Art
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, John Henry Twachtman: An American Impressionist, February 26–May 21, 2000. (Peters 1999–I), no. 25, as Sailing in the Mist. Traveled to: Cincinnati Art Museum, June 6–September 5, 1999; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, October 16, 1999–January 2, 2000.2014–15 Terra Foundation for American Art
Terra Foundation for American Art, Musée des impressionnismes Giverny, Giverny, France, American Impressionism: A New Vision, 1880–1900, March 28–June 29, 2014. (Bourguignon 2014), as Sailing in the Mist. Traveled to: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, July 19–October 19, 2014; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, November 4, 2014–February 1, 2015.Literature
New York Post 1905
"A Twachtman Memorial." New York Post, January 4, 1905, p. 7, as Sailing in the Mist.New York Times 1905
"Twachtman's Painted Poems." New York Times, January 10, 1905, p. 6, as Sailing in the Mist.American Art News 1906
"Exhibitions." American Art News 4 (February 3, 1906), p. 1, as Sailing in the Mist.Cortissoz 1906
Cortissoz, Royal. "The Galleries: The Exhibition at Philadelphia." The Scrip: Notes on Art 2 (March 1906), p. 188, as Sailing in the Mist.Craftsman 1906
"The National Note in Our Art—A Distinctive American Quality Dominant at the Pennsylvania Academy." Craftsman 10 (March 1906), p. 766, as Sailing in the Mist.Globe 1906
The Globe (New York) (January 31, 1906), as Sailing in the Mist.Philadelphia Daily News 1906
"Sailing in the Mist." Philadelphia Daily News, January 29, 1906, p. 2, as Sailing in the Mist.Philadelphia Evening Bulletin 1906
"Sailing in the Mist." Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, January 29, 1906, p. 12, as Sailing in the Mist.Philadelphia Evening Post 1906
L.B.W. "The Pennsylvania Academy." Philadelphia Evening Post, January 22, 1906, as Sailing in the Mist.Philadelphia Press 1906
"Annual Exhibition at the Academy." Philadelphia Press, January 21, 1906, p. 4, as Sailing in the Mist.Evening Telegraph 1906–I
"Painting for Temple Collection." Evening Telegraph (Philadelphia), January 29, 1906, p.11, as Sailing in the Mist.Philadelphia Inquirer 1906–II
"Sailing in the Mist Sold." Philadelphia Inquirer, January 28, 1906, section 1, p. 6, as Sailing in the Mist.Public Ledger 1906–II
"Art and Artists." Public Ledger (Philadelphia), January 28, 1906, as Sailing in the Mist.Ziegler 1906–II
Ziegler, Francis J. "New of the Art World." Philadelphia Record, January 28, 1906, p. 4, as Sailing in the Mist.Boston Evening Transcript 1908
"The Fine Arts." Boston Evening Transcript, April 15, 1908, p. 23, as Sailing in the Mist.Sun 1908–II
"From Baltimore to Washington Galleries." Sun (New York), April 23, 1908, p. 6, as Sailing in the Mist.Buffalo Fine Arts Academy 1913
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. "Memorial Exhibition of the Works of John H. Twachtman." Albright Academy Notes 8 (April 1913), p. 66, as Sailing in the Mist.Hale 1957
Hale, John Douglass. "Life and Creative Development of John H. Twachtman." 2 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1957. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, 1958, vol. 2, p. 567–68 (catalogue A, no. 523c), as Sailing in the Mist. (Hale concordance).Hoopes 1972
Hoopes, Donelson F. The American Impressionists. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1972, p. 94 ill. in color (plate 38), as Sailing in the Mist.Boyle 1974–I
Boyle, Richard. American Impressionism. Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1974, pp. 167–69, ill. in b/w, as Sailing in the Mist.Boyle 1974–II
Boyle, Richard J. "American Impressionism." Apollo 100 (August 1974), p. 161 ill. in b/w, as Sailing in the Mist.Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 1975
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine. Young America: A Selection of Paintings from the Collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1975, pp. 59 ill. in b/w, 74, as Sailing in the Mist.Gerdts 1976
Gerdts, William H. "The Square Format and Proto-Modernism in American Painting." Arts 50 (June 1976), p. 70 ill. in b/w, as Sailing in the Mist.Boyle 1978
Boyle, Richard J. "John H. Twachtman: An Appreciation." American Art & Antiques 1 (November–December 1978), pp. 74–75 ill. in color, 77, as Sailing in the Mist.Boyle 1979
Boyle, Richard. John Twachtman. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1979, pp. 17–18, 56–57, 72 ill. in color, as Sailing in the Mist.Gerdts 1984
Gerdts, William H. American Impressionism. New York: Abbeville, 1984, p. 159–60 ill. in color, as Sailing in the Mist.Mott 1989
Mott, Jacolyn A., ed. The American Paintings in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: An Illustrated Checklist. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in association with the University of Washington, 1989, pp. 152–53 ill. in b/w (no. 1388), as Sailing in the Mist.Danly 1990
Danly, Susan. Light, Air, and Color: American Impressionist Paintings from the Collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1990, p. 76 ill. in color, 77, as Sailing in the Mist.Gerdts 1990–VI
Gerdts, William H. "The Ten: A Critical Chronology." In Ten American Painters, by William H. Gerdts et al. New York: Spanierman Gallery, 1990. Exhibition catalogue, pp. 42 ill. in b/w, 43, as Sailing in the Mist.Peters 1995
Peters, Lisa N. "John Twachtman (1853–1902) and the American Scene in the Late Nineteenth Century: The Frontier within the Terrain of the Familiar." 2 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, City University of New York, 1995. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International, 1996, vol. 1, pp. 315, 496; vol. 2, p. 857 ill. in b/w (fig. 341), as Sailing in the Mist.Larkin 1996
Larkin, Susan G. "'A Regular Rendezvous for Impressionists:' The Cos Cob Art Colony 1882–1920." Ph.D. dissertation, 1996. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microforms, 1996, pp. xvi, 118, 346 ill. in b/w (4.2), as Sailing in the Mist.May 1999
May, Stephen. "John Twachtman: An American Impressionist." Antiques and the Arts Weekly (December 3, 1999), p. 1 ill. in b/w, as Sailing in the Mist.Peters 1999–I
Peters, Lisa N. John Henry Twachtman: An American Impressionist. Atlanta: High Museum of Art, 1999. Exhibition catalogue (1999 High Museum of Art), pp. 101, 105 ill. in color.Glueck 2001
Glueck, Grace. "A Connecticut Colony That Radiated Sunshine." New York Times, March 9, 2001, p. E38 ill. in color (flipped), as Sailing in the Mist.Landi 2001
Landi, Ann. "Bohemians by the Shore." Artnews 100 (May 2001), pp. 168 ill. in color, 169, as Sailing in the Mist.Larkin 2001–I
Larkin, Susan G. The Cos Cob Art Colony: Impressionists on the Connecticut Shore. New York: National Academy of Design in association with Yale University, 2001. Exhibition catalogue (2001 National Academy of Design), pp. 100-101 ill. in color, 102, as Sailing in the Mist.Larkin 2001–II
Larkin, Susan G. "The Cos Cob Art Colony." American Art Review 13 (February 2001), p. 104 ill. in color, as Sailing in the Mist.Lyman 2004
Lyman, Laurel. "The Influence of Japonisme on the American Impressionists." Ph.D. dissertation, Graduate School of the City University of New York, 2004. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microforms, 2004, pp. 108–10 ill. in b/w (fig. 80), as Sailing in the Mist.Bourguignon 2014
Bourguignon, Katherine M. American Impressionism: A New Vision 1880–1900. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014. Exhibition catalogue (2014–15 Terra Foundation for American Art), p. 125 ill. in color, as Sailing in the Mist.Peters 2021–II
Peters, Lisa N. Life and Art: The Greenwich Paintings of John Henry Twachtman. Cos Cob, Conn.: Greenwich Historical Society, 2021. Exhibition catalogue (2022 Greenwich Historical Society), pp. 63–64 ill. in color (fig. 49), 65, as Sailing in the Mist.Commentary
Depicting a child in a sailboat, this is the best-known of Twachtman’s images of his Sailing in the Mist subject, created in response to the loss of his nine-year-old daughter Elsie from scarlet fever on January 13, 1895. In the painting, the small boat with its single passenger sails into a mist that obscures the distinction between water and sky, the atmospheric light filling the scene enhanced by Twachtman’s forward tilt of the picture plane. The solitary figure, sitting against the stern of the rudderless boat, seems to let the vessel move of its own accord, its white sail shimmering as it catches the wind.
Sailing in the Mist was included in the 1905 memorial exhibition of Twachtman's work at Knoedler galllery. In the following year, it was sent by the agent for Twachtman's estate, Silas S. Dustin, to the annual of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where it was photographed in an installation view (fig. 1). The exhibition opened on February 22. Two days later, John E. D. Trask, the academy's manager, wrote to Dustin, offering $800 net for the painting, and asked Dustin for a telegraph reply, stating: "If this sale is consummated, another is almost certain."[1] The sale was completed, but in spite of this inducement, the academy did not purchase another work by Twachtman until 1923, when it acquired Flowers (OP.989).
In 1908 the work was displayed as a special memorial selection in the exhibition of the Ten American Painters. The Public Ledger of Philadelphia reported that the painting, although not included in the catalogue, was “hung by itself and surrounded by memorial wreaths,” commemorating Twachtman in a painting that itself had a memorial theme.
[1] John E. D. Trask, Phildelphia, to Silas S. Dustin, New York, January 24, 1906, painting file, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
External Links
- Museum website (https://www.pafa.org/museum/collection/item/sailing-mist)